Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork. [url=https://www.cheapmariners.com/]Seattle Mariners Shirts[/url] .com) - The Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the opening week of the season was Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat. You know, the guy everybody ridiculed constantly for being soft? Or the man univers

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork. Seattle Mariners Shirts .com) - The Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the opening week of the season was Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat. You know, the guy everybody ridiculed constantly for being soft? Or the man universally deemed the most overrated player in the history of the association? Thats the one. Obviously, we are only three games into Miamis season, but the Heat, and Bosh especially, have been very good. They are the Eastern Conferences only undefeated team and Bosh is the primary reason. He is averaging 25.7 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.3 spg, while shooting 48 percent from the field and 54.5 from 3-point range. Those numbers are astronomical and all would be career-highs, if only there werent 79 more to come. How Bosh is posting them is impressive, too. Gone are the days of Bosh banging on the interior. Hes using his athleticism to go by bigger defenders and hitting that jumper that has evolved during his tenure in South Beach. I knew I couldnt settle into that same position Ive been in the past four years, floating outside and shooting a couple of jumpers, Bosh told ESPN.coms Michael Wallace. I know I had to switch it up a little. Bosh is such an interesting figure. Hes one of these types that went from being overrated to being so overrated, hes a little underrated. Bosh was extremely productive in his seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors. He averaged over 22 ppg in his final five seasons where the beer is stronger and everyones funnier. Three of those final five campaigns, Bosh posted double-figure rebound averages, thus, making claims about his softness ... odd. Once Bosh joined the Big Three in South Beach, he did so as the willing third option. LeBron James was better than everyone on Earth and Dwyane Wade could still play before his knees went out on him. Bosh was there to be a third scoring option, hit the glass a little, and, by season four, stretch the floor to allow James maximum space to operate. In Boshs third season with the Heat, he upped his 3-point attempts to 2.8 per game and made a respectable 34 percent. That number really isnt bad since it was basically his first season doing it. When critics sharpen knives at Bosh, they fail to acknowledge that, statistically his game took a fall, but it was going to with James and Wade. That was by design. No one mentions that Bosh sacrificed numbers to help the team. He became the stretch four that they couldnt find, or that Rashard Lewis never really could become. In doing so, its become a legitimate weapon in Boshs arsenal. His face-up game is strong and carrying him at the moment, but his shooting is keeping defenses honest, and keeping big men out of the paint. The Heat dont have the wrecking ball force known as LeBron James needing that interior space, but its there. Its actually been Bosh taking advantage of it. Those 4.0 apg are really impressive. Bosh is facilitating offense from the elbows. Of all his outrageous stats this early, its those assists and the 3- point percentage most likely to dip into normalcy. And shame on all of us for underestimating Bosh. Did James Harden teach us nothing? When Harden was shipped to Houston, most of us didnt expect him to dominate the way he did. Harden got a new opportunity and flourished. We all just assumed Bosh would stay the same player as the one in Miami with James doing the heavy lifting. Instead, Bosh improved. Know who did think Bosh was going to be great again? Pat Riley and the Heat. They offered him five years and $118-plus million, which, he readily accepted. The Houston Rockets offered him a big deal, and most assumed hed take it. With James back in Cleveland, wouldnt the Rockets with Harden, Dwight Howard, Bosh and presumably Chandler Parsons back, be better than Miami with Bosh and Wade? Well Bosh didnt think so. Maybe he wanted one more chance to be the man. Maybe he likes the stifling humidity of Miami. Either way, the Heat and Bosh realized that Bosh would be the primary offensive weapon. Hed have to be, right? Wade moves around like a cross between my 98-year-old grandmother, and what I imagine Andre the Giant would look like if he were alive, minus any weight issue. Luol Deng is not a superstar scorer. Josh McRoberts is not at all. That left Bosh and hes handling the job. Boshs numbers will go down, but to all of you Bosh haters, remember that he can still dominate. Now, he does it in a variety of ways. Maybe Bosh has gotten better. Maybe not, but now we at least know Bosh is not overrated. Seattle Mariners Store . -- Mike Shanahan gave Robert Griffin III a rest, and may have turned up the pressure on himself, too. Custom Seattle Mariners Jerseys . This time, it was Eric Chavezs turn. Stuck in a rut since coming off the disabled list, Chavez hit the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning for a run-scoring single, sending the Diamondbacks to another walk-off victory, 4-3 over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . The Union looked to have grabbed a big win in the 88th minute when Amobi Okugo finally put the hosts in front. But a terrible giveaway by Union goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi handed Earnshaw the equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time, keeping the Union two points back of fifth-place Red Bull New York for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.MINNEAPOLIS -- After three straight 100-loss seasons, the Houston Astros lineup is suddenly filled with sluggers who can change a game with one swing. Chris Carter and Jon Singleton hit their first career grand slams to power Houston to a 14-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. Carters slam in the seventh inning sailed over the limestone overhang in right field and gave Houston a 9-3 lead. Singleton lined a fastball off Glen Perkins over the right-field wall that made it 14-5 in the ninth. Dexter Fowler and George Springer also homered for the Astros. Houston has now hit 69 homers this season, well on pace to surpass last seasons total of 148, third-worst in the American League. "It puts more strain on the opposing pitchers," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "They feel like, I cant make a mistake here, I cant make a mistake here. That can drain on a staff." The only other time two Astros players hit grand slams in the same game was July 30, 1969, at New York when Denis Menke and Jimmy Wynn both hit slams in an 11-run ninth inning against the Mets. Houston players are also sensing a different vibe now that the lineup is filled with more power. "Its been fun. We like playing off of each other," Singleton said. "Thats definitely a bonus. When one person does well, it carries over and its contagious." Darin Downs (1-0) got the last eight outs as the third reliever to follow starter Colin McHugh, who fanned six and allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings. He walked five and was removed after throwing 101 pitches. Trevor Plouffe and Josh Willingham hit RBI singles as Minnesota made it 5-3 in the fifth, but couldnt get any closer before Carter and Singleton powered the game away. Houston batted around in the fourth inning, scoring three runs after Samuel Deduno (2-4) loaded the bases with nobody out by walking two batters and hitting another. The Astros have won seven of eight on the road and 11 of their last 15 overall as they try to snap a three-year streak of losing 100 games. It was the third time in club history Minnesota allowed two grand slams in the same game. The last time it happened was April 22, 1988, in Cleveland. "They got us today," Perkins said. "I think they swing hard in case they hit it, and they hit them today. Mariners Jerseys China. Theyre not as bad as people think they are. Gotta give credit to them the way they swing the bat and pitch the ball pretty well." The Twins also officially signed free-agent designated hitter/first-baseman Kendrys Morales on Sunday to bolster their inconsistent offence. But if Minnesota -- now three games under .500 -- wants to remain in the playoff race, its going to need better starting pitching. Deduno walked four and hit two while allowing five runs in three innings on Sunday, raising his ERA to 4.45. As a group, Minnesotas starters are 19-25 with a 4.97 ERA. "Not a good day pitching today. Used a lot of innings out there," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We still have three games to go (before the next off day), so well get through it. Thats the way it is. They killed it at the end." McHugh struck out four batters in a row during one stretch and extended his scoreless innings streak to a career-high 16 2/3 before Eduardo Nunez homered in the fourth. Springer, named American League rookie of the month after hitting 10 home runs in May, led off the eighth by hitting his second homer in three games. "Its nice to have other guys in the lineup who do the same thing and have more protection where guys cant just pitch around me or pitch around another guy," said Carter, who led Houston with 29 homers last season. "Theres another guy behind him always. Its good for all of us." NOTES: To make room on the roster for Morales, Minnesota released Jason Kubel, who appeared in 798 games over parts of eight seasons with the Twins, but was hitting .224 this year and just .158 since April. ... The Astros recalled LHP Rudy Owens to pitch out of the bullpen and sent Paul Clemens back to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the sixth time this season. ... The Twins unveiled a new bronze statue on the Target Plaza before the game: team mascot T.C. Bear. ... Jonathan Villar singled three times for Houston. ... Ricky Nolasco (4-5, 5.65 ERA) starts for the Twins against Torontos R.A. Dickey (6-4, 4.25 ERA) on Monday. ... Houstons Jarred Cosart (4-5, 4.16 ERA) faces Josh Collmenter (4-2, 3.63 ERA) to kick off a two-game series in Arizona on Monday. ' ' '